Sew Practical and Sew Pretty
/Day two of SYSL, we hope you are getting excited!!! Today we have Lisa sharing a stunning version of the Bateau Garden Dress from Winter Wear Designs, and don't forget to head on over to Feather's Flights to catch Heather's great sew for today. Sew Yourself some love is going strong and it doesn't matter what stage of life you are in, we've got something for you. Her nursing hack is awesome for all the mamas who are about to or who have just had babies!!!
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Have you ever seen a beautiful dress sewn up for a little girl, with lots of lovely lace and details and a full skirt, and wished you could have it in your size? I have - so I decided to use the Sew Yourself Some Love campaign as an excuse to make that wish come true.
I’ve been a Pattern Revolution fan girl from the start, and my favorite posts have always been those on the theme of Sewing Yourself Some Love. I love sewing for myself for the opportunity it gives me to create my own individual style, or to see something I love in a store or on Pinterest and put my own twist on it. I love that I can make things that fit my own unique body shape properly and comfortably. But most of all, I love having a hobby which is also about self-care - taking some time for me out of the crazy juggle of work and family life, to do something which is just for me. So I’m more excited than I can say to have the opportunity to sew a pattern designed by one of my self-care sewing idols, Suzanne Winter, and to be a part of Sew Yourself Some Love for 2016.
I decided to go a little over the top and really sew myself some love - I’ve challenged myself with some new sewing skills, and I’ve made a dress which is fancier than I usually get to wear, as something of a special treat.
The pattern is the Bateau Garden Dress by Winter Wear Designs, which I’ve made in a faux lace cotton sateen. But if we’re talking love, there had to be some beautiful, real lace involved too. This was a new sewing challenge for me - I’ve never worked with guipure lace before - but I figured out how to insert a lace panel into the fully lined bodice, how to cut the lace around the pattern piece, and how to attach the shoulder straps without them falling apart - and there were many mistakes along the way - but it was absolutely worth it, and I’m feeling very proud of it.
And then I thought - why not trim the skirt with guipure lace too? So I did!
I’ll confess - I’ve always wanted a dress with a pettiskirt. It’s a completely impractical thing to want - I really don’t have a pettiskirt kind of lifestyle - but sometimes it’s good to have fun instead of worrying about practical realities! This was another new sewing challenge for me - I’ve never worked with tulle before, but apart from managing the sheer volume of fabric between me and my sewing machine at times, it wasn’t that hard. Wearing it is every bit as fun as I’d imagined - a full circle skirt with layers and layers of tulle underneath - I’m sure you can tell from my photos how much I love swishing around in this. I have no idea where I’ll actually wear it, but now that it’s done, I’m just going to wear it anyway, because I love it - even if it is a bit over the top for a family picnic or a date night! You only live once.
So my challenge to you in this month of Sewing Yourself Some Love is this...take one step out of your comfort zone. Sew something for yourself for the first time, or try a new pattern, new technique, new type of fabric, or a modification to make something your own, or sew something a bit fancier than you would normally wear (and then just wear it anyway). Sew something you’d love to wear. And then come and share it in our Facebook group, and inspire others to take the plunge too. There will be lots of inspiration to sew for yourself this month - I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.
